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Can I sell my home during the quarantine?

What the current shelter-in-place requirements have taken away in some areas of life, technology thankfully has stepped in to pick up the slack.

One of those areas, key to so much of the economy, is the housing market. Over the next couple of months, people can take advantage of several handy tools to sell their homes:

Virtual tours. Whether it’s with 360-degree snapshots, live FaceTime tours or walk-through videos, sellers can offer potential buyers up-close looks at their homes, without the need to schedule an appointment. In fact, with these and other virtual tools, sellers can highlight the very best features of their homes while serving them up on a buffet that buyers can sample anytime on their phones or laptops.

Remote closing. In addition, sellers and buyers can close on their homes virtually—or at least in different rooms in the same building. Mobile notary services and good ol’ fax machines have been handling remote closings for years, making the current difficulties that much easier to handle from the official paperwork angle.

Low rates. With average interest rates on 30-year mortgages well under 4 percent now, sellers have an even better chance of selling to people who may have been on the fence about being able to afford a monthly mortgage payment. For people selling what may be considered starter homes, that in itself is huge incentive for potential buyers.

While it may be some time before open houses are again a staple of buyers’ and sellers’ summer routines, people looking to sell their homes can still be optimistic of a timely sale!